India have received a timely confidence boost just 10 days before the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with several of their white-ball stars climbing the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings following strong performances against New Zealand.
At the forefront is Abhishek Sharma, who has strengthened his position as the world’s top-ranked T20I batter after scoring back-to-back half-centuries in the ongoing five-match series. The left-hander now sits on 929 rating points, extending his lead over England’s Phil Salt and closing in on his career-best mark of 931 achieved during last year’s Asia Cup.
India’s momentum is further underlined by Suryakumar Yadav, who jumped five places to seventh after an unbeaten 57 in Guwahati, while Jasprit Bumrah climbed four spots to 13th among T20I bowlers. Varun Chakravarthy continues to lead the bowling rankings, as Hardik Pandya moved up to third and Shivam Dube surged six places to 11th in the all-rounders’ list.
Elsewhere, several teams enjoyed ranking gains, with Aiden Markram, Brandon King and Glenn Phillips among the movers in the T20I batting charts, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Corbin Bosch and Matthew Forde made strides among bowlers. In the all-rounders’ race, Dipendra Singh Airee and Azmatullah Omarzai continued their steady rise ahead of the global showpiece.
Meanwhile, England’s recent ODI success against Sri Lanka was reflected in the ODI rankings, with Harry Brook leaping 17 places to 11th and Joe Root climbing to 17th after centuries in the decider. Adil Rashid moved into the top five among bowlers, while Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka impressed among all-rounders, rounding off a rankings update that signals form, momentum and belief at a crucial stage of the international calendar.
